Blanket finished- YES!

Posted on February 18, 2007 by mimik

before I forget- does anyone have any fabric with map imagery on it that you’d like to trade or sell me? I’m looking for something map-like but not too terribly specific. I was looking at hankies and tea towels on ebay, with state maps, but it really wasn’t mappy enough.

And my blanket is done!

It has a little fringe, all the ends that were in the middle of the rows are sewn in, I washed it and now it is ready for keeping us cozy. It has started already-

I just couldn’t help myself when I was photographing the blanket.

It took me 5 1/2 weeks to knit. I only used yarn that I already had. It weighs 1 lb and 10 oz. It is approximately 4 ft x 4 ft. It was knit with worsted weight wool on size 10 1/2 needles which made a loose and drapey fabric. Here is a photo on Flickr that shows the blanket spread out.

:-) heart

Posted on February 14, 2007 by mimik

Happy Valentines Day everybody. But that isn’t the big holiday this week around my house-

Yesterday was my third year blog birthday- and considering how much this blogging thing has enriched my life, it is most certainly worth celebrating! I am hoping for another wonderful year of meeting new people, swaps, round robins, feedback, exchanges of information- the community. That’s been the best part.

It’s a snow day today. Peter has no school. In our town, they blow a very loud horn when school is canceled or delayed. Seems so very old fashioned.

I managed to get a lot closer to being done with my blanket this past week.

When we were visiting Eleanor this past weekend, we sat around and talked and I knit… It is now 47 inches long. I have 2 more color stripes I want to do. I ran out of brown (the constant stripe color)- grrr. I thought about buying some more, but no, the whole point of this project is to use up what I have. So, the last stripes are black. I doubt anyone will complain.

A clarification of sorts- I start tons of projects that don’t get finished. It’s just that the blanket project is in my head in a different category from what I think of as my “art” projects. The blanket is a home project. I have a long list of home projects I want to get done. Curtains and throw pillows for our new futon sofa are at the top of the list. It’s these home projects that I am trying to keep under some control. My personal rules are VERY complicated with oh so many exceptions, footnotes and extenuating circumstances. Good thing I can make them up as I go along!

Wednesday update

Posted on February 7, 2007 by mimik

My postcard is up on the ArtStream shop now- check it out. There is loads of great artwork for under $100.

Week 4- The blanket continues to grow. It is now 35 inches long and weighs 1 pound 2 oz. It seems much heavier as I’m knitting it. A big plus right now- it covers my lap and it’s been freezing around here!

I’ve been thinking about pears-

I’m not sure where this is going.

And, I’m working on a new design which involves…

messes. Scrap paper, scrap fabric, tape, glue, and a trash can.

This is what I’m working on. No, they aren’t aliens.

works in progress

Posted on January 31, 2007 by mimik

I didn’t get much done on the blanket this week-

It is 29 inches long now. It is getting bulky to work on- warm, but hard to maneuver.

My doll is coming along, although she won’t be finished for doll club tomorrow. Here is where I was this morning-

I wanted the sweater to be more form fitting. I ended up cutting it down the front and took some darts at the sides. No buttons yet- actually, I’m not sure about how I’m going to close the sweater.

The coat is mostly done- no button yet. She’s got felt shoes- no buttons yet. I am trying out this hair- undyed cashmere goat.

I decided she needed another layer- vest in progress-

And here she is at the end of the day with her vest on. I’m thinking of going with tibetan lambswool hair- it fills more space and the frizzies have a lot of personality.

Everything is pinned on- hair, sweater, vest, coat, shoes. Everything needs closures of some sort… well the hair will need glue. I’m still thinking about some lace too- I paint “dyed” some, but I’m not satisfied with the color yet. And I’ve run out of time for today.

some things get done

Posted on January 24, 2007 by mimik

Here is the weekly progress report on my blanket-

let’s see, I started it on 1/9 and now it is 24 inches long. That might be half way. It is very drapey and warm to work on.

Well, I got a piece into the show after all! It turns out they are being very relaxed about accepting work so I brought over my piece today.

First though, I framed it up. I was lucky that the postcard fit perfectly into an 8 x 10 standard frame. I backed the postcard with linen. As I was pulling out various lengths and scraps of possibilities, I came across a reminder of why I like working with my Mom’s fabric-

It all feels like so much family history.

I also framed up this one-

and it will be going up to New Hampshire for the Lovely Hearts Show at Artstream.

Update on the cards- I have the original postcards back from the printers and that why I could submit them to the shows. The notecards are suppose to be ready for me on Friday… they had to order the paper and various other delays. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will put them into my etsy shop then. Does anyone have a great source of the clear sleeves for packaging them? I am a real beginner at this end of things!

weather, update, projects

Posted on January 17, 2007 by mimik

We are having winter today-

It was cold in my studio, but it was cold everywhere else too, so I worked anyway.

Here is the one week update on my blanket project-

technical information – I cast on 155 stitches with worsted weight wool. I am doing only garter stitch. I am using size 10.5 plastic circular needles, 29 inches long. It is about 50 inches wide and so far about 18″ long. It weighs 1/2 pound so far. My design- knit irregular rows (ie 3 or 5 rows of each color except when I run out of yarn), 2 shades of similar colors and a dark brown stripe between. The goal- use up what I already have.

I am working on Valentines with several thoughts in mind. I am thinking of doing the cafepress cards. And several galleries I know are having small works February Valentine’s themed shows- some for charity, some not. We’ll see where I end up going. These are similar to ones I’ve done before-

and here is an idea I’ve been playing with with the robots- sweetheart robots?

Thursday in January

Posted on January 11, 2007 by mimik

Thanks so much for all the feedback on the photo loading- things seem to be working again and I am SO relieved! Now, hopefully I can spend some time making the rest of the page look and work better. I’ll be researching some of my visually favorite sites and try to figure out why I like them.

In the meantime, some pictures-

I made these 2 ornaments after Christmas and brought them down to Connecticut… where I left them. Oops. Now they are back home. My list (the one I’ve got taped to my sewing machine) includes making more of these- especially the robot and children- and making a pattern. I thought it would be an easy pattern to make and maybe not too scary… why do I find the idea so overwhelming? I don’t know… ask my son why he hasn’t written his English essay and the answer or non-answer is probably the same.

And I’ve got a knitting project started-

Yeah! Inspired by Cassi at Bella Dia and Jane at Yarnstorm and all the other beautiful blankets around the blog world, I’ve got one going. I am looking forward to having it be long enough to keep me warm while working on it… yes, it got cold again. It is soothing to work on. Sort of how I felt about coloring books when I was little. All I have to think about is color. The pattern part is so easy- just straight garter stitch until I think it is done.

and some links- Sharon has again made me think with her inspired thoughts about blogging. And, Happy 3rd Blog Birthday to her! She is an amazing resource and supporter of the community of the craft/art end of the blog world. In another post she talks about the bloggies and choosing favorite craft blogs. I’m not going there, but I find I am most attracted to the blogs that are not so wildly popular- maybe I feel more likely to be able to have a real connection with the person writing (that community thing again). If I go to a blog and see something wonderful but there is 50 comments on a post, the likelihood that I’ll add my 2 cents is very slim.

Lastly- I love the YouTube Moleskine here.

Doll

the art and craft of Mimi Kirchner

Category Archives: knitting